In the peaceful and mild environment of Lika, a hazelnut plantation grows, the fruits of which inspired a young entrepreneur to start production, which is still relatively rare in Croatia. On a total of 3 hectares, far from all environmental polluters, there is a plantation that has been taken care of by the third generation, and the fourth is slowly entering the business. In addition to hazelnut plantations, there is also a plantation of 200 clear plum trees older than 30 years, and bees that enable the production of completely natural and organic honey.
Crafts "Tammy" opened in May 2020 with financial assistance from HAMAG-BICRO. The idea of opening a business came from an existing plantation, with the aim of upgrading the business and offering hazelnut products to the market.
"The products we sell are pure organic hazelnuts as raw materials, and hazelnut oil, flour and butter. We make only pure products - we do not make chocolates, sweets or candied products. Our primary product is oil, and flour and butter are by-products of pressing. hazelnut oil In the process of pressing, on the one hand, we are left with a loaf of bread that we give to grind and thus flour is formed.
And hazelnut butter is a by-product of oil sedimentation after pressing - once the oil is pressed, it has to ‘age’ to be purified, and what’s left at the bottom after that is the butter. ”, explains Tammy owner Ivana Babić Čortan.
The certificates held by this young company are Halal, Kosher and the eco certificate of the Austrian certification company ABG, and are currently in the process HACCP certification. "Our motivation for certification is branding, as well as striving to be more recognizable in the circle of providers, but above all to prove to people that we really have an ecological product. Certification gives people an extra dose of security.", he explains Babic Cortan. Organic farming and production are more complicated and demanding than usual, so few entrepreneurs opt for it.
About his experiences with organic production Babic Cortan says: "We planned the certification long before we even opened the business, so we didn't have to change the production processes. As we did the certification first, we made sure we didn't take any wrong steps in the administration or the production itself. way of production, rather than starting from the beginning. Production by standards is of course harder, there is more paperwork, more costs, more responsibility to consumers and government institutions. But I believe that ecology lies in the future of living, behavior and nutrition. "